Tag Archives: jumping toddler

A.’s school bus stop is up the street, on the corner, one crossed street and two houses away from ours. For me (or T. or C. or A.) to walk there, it takes all of about 25 seconds. Tops. Her bus is scheduled to arrive at 8:09 every morning. What time should A. and I leave in order to make sure she arrives at the bus stop on time?

What’s that? I hear 8:05, 8:04 — even an 8:08. Well, you are all wrong. Because you forgot an important factor. It’s not just A. and I walking to the bus every morning. Most days we have a curious toddler with us. A curious and very, very slowtoddler.

No kidding, we left the house at 8:00 this morning and we got to the stop with a minute to spare. (I should mention that we started to head out the door at 7:55 — not only does A. have to get her backpack on, so does Spencer. I got him an Elmo one right before school started, knowing that he was going to want to wear one like his big siblings.)

Coming home we average an even worse MPH. My curious toddler and I walked in the back door at 8:25. 8:25! Fifteen minutes to walk 100 yards. No wonder I’m not losing any weight walking.

I’m not complaining though. While I wish Spencer would move slightly faster than molasses, I know that while we are walking he’s doing a lot more. He’s learning and exploring and enjoying life. It’s a lot of fun to watch and gives me some insight on how his thought process works. Let me tell you, for a short distance, he can really squeeze quite a bit in.

This morning on our way home he spent a great deal of time walking or skipping sideways. For part of the journey he’d face me, while other times he’d face our neighbor’s houses. He thought it was the greatest thing to do. “Look at me,” he shouted. “I walk funny!”

When he wasn’t sashaying to the side, his eyes were trained to the ground, looking for acorns, rocks and other assorted treasures along the side of the road. Very aware of his surroundings, he’d let me know if he spotted something he deemed important. “Look at squirrel mommy!” “Look at cat!” “Cars is coming! Be careful!”

Of course, he had to mix in some humor too. One of his favorite games to play whenever we arrive on our block is to point at every house we pass and ask if it’s his. “This Fencer’s house?” He’ll pause for effect and then answer himself with a loud “NOOOOOO!” over and over again until we arrive at our abode.